


The Forgotten

by B3LLATRIX13



Series: Mystic Tears [1]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Amnesia, Elijah/Oc - Freeform, F/M, OC, Romance, i dont know what else to add-
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27282346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B3LLATRIX13/pseuds/B3LLATRIX13
Summary: In which after a thousand years of suffering they finally meet again, except now the curse will be lifted."Just who are you to me! Why do I feel this way about you, Tell me!"" I can't. I wont take the risk of telling you, and the curse taking your life..It's too dangerous.""I don't care! I just want to know the truth!" Disclaimer/Better full summary inside.
Relationships: Elijah Mikaelson & Original Female Character(s), Elijah Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Mystic Tears [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991983
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	1. The Forgotten

A thousand years ago, before the creations of witches, there were nymphs. Nymphs were connected with magic in ways witches could never be, they were stronger in ways witches could never obtain. Their beauty and power outshone any and everyone.

They existed before everything, vampires, werewolves, witches, all except for humans. No one ever knew how nymphs could exist, they ever only knew that there were those born with magic, and there were ones who weren't. The first nymphic family consisted of Alaimon Neilsson, his wife Kauldra, and their children. They had four children in total, Lyonus, their eldest and only son. Echo, their daughter, second oldest after their son, and finally Kaidra and Seraphina their youngest set of twins.

Kauldra was the first to create an entire species, witches. She had done so on accident while attempting to heal a dying female soldier. The nymph had given the woman too much power, which changed the makings inside her, resulting in the woman being able to call upon her own power. This woman, Amnesia, would be the first witch but not the last.

Werewolves were next, they too were an accident. Alaimon had grown furious after a series of humans attacked his family, wanting to entrap them to use their power. The father had been so angry he cursed the humans with all of his might. The light of the full moon had shone brightly that night as Alaimon watched those human men's bodies twist and dysmorth painfully. They too would be the first werewolves, but never the last.

Vampires were the one thing not created by nymphs. But that's a story that's already been told.

It shouldn't have been much of a surprise when witches, humans and werewolves got together and formed a plan to storm the Neilsson's castle and take the nymphs hostage. Witches were jealous of nymph's power and wanted to use their blood as a power source, werewolves wanted their curse removed, humans simply wanted to make them weapons.

Despite their power, none of the nymphs were prepared for the attack, nor the use of weaponry that had been spelled to subdue them. Only a few nymphs ran free that night, Echo, Seraphina, and Kaidra. All three sisters felt the death of their parents as soon as their hearts stopped, but they never found Lyonus.

The eldest of her sisters, Echo took the still young twins and ran. She had forced herself not to mourn until she knew they were safe. The Neilsson's could not lose any more than they had already lost.

They spent hours, days even running before they came to stop in a small village. Though muddled with dirt and blood they had still radiated off power. Echo knew that not all people were bad, but after what had just happened to her family it was only natural of her to be both terrified and weary when a witch named Ester first greeted her.

Ester had heard about the rebellion and quickly pledged her loyalty, swearing that she would never dream of harming them and that her town could be a safe haven for them. Wearily, Echo had agreed. She needed a safe place to raise and teach her young sisters, and they certainly needed a place to hide from the horrors of the world that had overcome their family.

Their life bloomed beautifully in that small village. The nymph sisters became acquainted with all of the villagers, but all of the years they lived there, the Neilsson's became the most accustomed to the Mikaelson's. Ester quickly adapted to mothering Echo and her younger sisters just as she would her own children. She helped teach them things they didn't know before, magic and otherwise when it came to raising Kaidra and Seraphina. During their time in the Village, Echo had especially become close to one Elijah Mikaelson.

If only she had known the Mikaelson's would be her downfall, making her lose her family once more.

Echo Neilsson had been cursed, cursed with both the length of life, the impossibility of death, and her constant lapse of memories. She was lost to the world, and the world lost to her. The nymph forgot everything; why she had forgotten her life, the people important to her, and even those who wronged her.

She spent hundreds of years alone, not alone in a sense of being by herself but in the sense of never having anyone who stayed. At least until she met Damon Salvatore, the boy walking around on the leash that Katherine Pierce drug behind her. Their meeting was almost a fated one, for that man would become her best friend, her rock. And she would do the same for him.

He was there for her lapses of memories. Even when they left Stefan and Mystic Falls behind Damon always stayed with Echo. He made sure she kept track of her life through journals, and was always there to protect and make sure she was never lost again. Because of him, she was never alone again.

Now 200 years after being friends with Damon, Echo is once more lost to the world when she wakes up in the back of Damon and Stefan's car on their way to save Elena from Rose and Trevor.

After ignoring Damon's pleas for her to leave and not go into the building, Echo ignores the vampire and instead finds a corpse.

Already freaked out enough, it doesn't help when the dead man suddenly comes back to life and knows who she is. But when their eyes interlock? Something snaps within Echo, her body giving way as she collapsed to the ground.

Something was wrong, no, something was different. Echo's curse was broken.

/ Pairing: Elijah x Oc \\\

/ Book one of the Mystic's Tears series: The Forgotten \\\  
/ Each story is read as a stand alone book.\\\

/Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or plot of TVD nor TO. I simply own my characters and any plot sections that I insert. Any TVD or TO plot or characters belong to their respective owners, nor do I own the photo, I only edited it.


	2. 00

A wince tugged at her lips, she could feel the tapping on her brain slowly thumping louder, harder. She didn’t have left anymore as she felt her magic start to waver. Compared to the hundreds of other times this had happened to her, this was much more tame in comparison. 

Echo’s lips tugged upwards at their corners,a smug yes knowing grin fitting it’s way onto her face. After a thousand the curse that had been placed on her was finally waning. Finally loosening its grip on the suffering girl. For the spell to last as long as it did only proved to Echo just how strong the witch who had cast it was. 

Echo rose a hand to rub between her eyes as she leaned back into the chair she was lying in. She knew she should hurry up and use her blood bond to find her rock, but she would do that in a minute. The curse was way slower than ever, and while she could still feel it thumping around her head, causing her magic to stir, she had a feeling something about this lapse would be different than before. With a small groan of irritation Echo used her body to push the chair she sat in away from the wooden table in front of her.

“I do so hate when this happens, I can’t wait for this damn curse to die out.”

A small annoyed whine left her lips as Echo began to slowly pad around the room, the curse being to take more of an effect on her. The grew dizzy as she wobbled around the small apartment she was renting, she made her way over into her bedroom before allowing herself to fall to her knees beside her bed. She looked up and grabbed the slightly blurring bag she saw underneath.

“Here we go.”

The woman gasped when a striking pain shot through her. She paused and leaned against her bed for a moment. Her body grew heavy as pain spread through it. While the pain was lesser than normal it still hurt her a great deal.

“Shit-” She groaned painfully, forcing her eyes to shut as she felt her magic begin to swirl and stutter around her. She didn’t have much time left at this point, the curse had picked up it’s speed. Before she could forget, Echo hoisted the large brown leather satchel she had grabbed over her head. She made sure it sat on her shoulders so that where she would go, it would go with her. 

Blackness began to creep at the corner of her eyes, and the nymph could practically hear her best friend's smug voice echoing around her. “I told you, you shouldn’t have left. Now you’re going to get lost and I’m going to have to go on a rampage to find your ass when you lose your memories.”

A hiss pulled from her lips before Echo finally reached up to press her fingertips on the choker around her neck. It was used for many things, one of them being to link her to her best friend should she start to have a memory lapse and need to get back to him as quickly as possible. The nymph poured what little stable magic into it as she could, a mutter leaving her lips like a prayer as her eyes fell shut and the curse took over even whilst she was teleported away.

“Take me to Damon Salvatore.”

And then the nymph was gone, having disappeared from the now empty apartment. Now she was off to start a new adventure, but when she woke up? Things would not be the same like previous memory lapses. Because the curse was already shattering, her memories would be like fragments to an unsolved puzzle but instead of starting anew, a few pieces would already be in place. Set for her to use at her discretion, her advantage before she would meet the man who would be the bomb to bring forth wave after wave of memories of her past.

He was going to help her recover everything she had lost, and in the meantime stick by her side. Because while she was still finding what he had lost, he already knew. And he found everything he’d missed, he’d lost in the form of a fiery little nymph named Echo Neilsson.

The forgotten would no longer be forgotten, now it would be remembered.


	3. 01

"Argh." Groaned Echo. Her body felt like dead weight, her eyes even heavier as she fought for them to open. She felt utterly exhausted, her head lulling in pain as it throbbed.

"Fuck." she whimpered and peeled her eyes open, her eyes met the ceiling of what she assumed was a car as confusion filled her. where am I? She thought to herself, forcing her body to sit up, another jolt of pain washing over her as the car she sat in hit a particularly hard bump.

"You alright back there princess?" Called a deeper voice from the front of the car, her eyes darting towards the front only to see a male in the passenger's seat looking back at her with worry, and a male in the driver's seat glancing back between the rear view mirror to look at her and the road.

"Who...Where am I? Who are you?"

"First you need to know who you are, Sweetheart." Spoke the raven haired man softly as he turned his focus back onto the road. "Then I'll let ya know who we are."

To say Echo was confused was an understatement. "The hell are you talking about." she winced as her head continued to ache. She was silent for a moment before realizing that she in fact didn't even know who she was. 

"Huh?...Why can't I remember my name?" she whimpered out in a mixture of confusion and pain.

“Askin’ all the important questions huh?” The darker haired man chuckled lightly and glanced at her from the rear view mirror. “You’ve lost your memory again, there's a bag next to you. It’s yours. You carry it with you for when shit like this happens.”

Echo looked around her and sure enough a rainbow paint splattered satchel sat right beside her against the car door. Echo reached out and grabbed it, pulling it onto her lap before groaning when the car hit another particularly noticeable bump, not helping how shitty she already felt.

“I know you're confused right now, but there's a journal or two in that bag, you’ve hand written them for yourself for whenever you lose your memory. Those books have got all the information you need to know, so make sure you read them.”

Echo looked back down at the bag in her lap before opening it and pulling out one of the three books inside. They were each labeled one through three. She grabbed the first one with the number one on it. Echo guessed that they were likely labeled in the order of things she needed to read first. 

Echo frowned, "I...I don't understand.." She looked at the cover of the journal, this seemed weird to her. She just lost her memory from time to time and had to read the journals she wrote to understand what happened? It seemed like a joke in all honesty.

“Just...read the book Princess” Damon sighed as he continued to drive 

Echo frowned but did as she was told, flipping the book open Echo began to read the start of the first page.

Dear Echo, yes that is your name. Echo Amara Neilsson.  
The first thing, and the most important thing you need to know is that you must find Damon or Stefan Salvatore. You must always look for them, they are your best friends and family, they will help you remember everything you need to know outside of the journals left for you. You must find them, and trust them.

Echo looked at the pictures that were taped into the page underneath the first bit of writing. They were small enough to not take up too much room, but large enough to be seen clearly. Echo looked at the labeled pictures, the first picture was labeled Damon. The picture was a copy of the man who was currently driving. The other photo was labeled Stefan and looked exactly like the boy in the passenger seat. 

Echos eyes turned towards the driver before speaking. “Your name is Damon Salvatore.” She looked away from the man before he could respond, instead turning to look at the lighter haired male beside him. “And you’re Stefan Salvatore.”

“Bingo! Glad to see you can still read, sweetheart!” Damon simply snickered while Stefan shook his head in slight irritation at Damon. "Don't tease her right now Damon."

"Come now little brother, live a little. A little teasing is good for ya'."

Echo glanced between the two men and let out a small sigh before she continued to read, thankfully the girl's migraine was beginning to dissipate or else reading was going to be a lot harder for her.

There are many important things you need to know, the first being that you are not human and that you're under a curse.

“So what I’m understanding is, my name's Echo and I need to be admitted into a psych institute.”

A sigh escaped Stefan. “I don’t know what you just read but everything in those journals are true, I promise you, you’re perfectly sane-”

“Did you really just use the word sane to describe Echo?”

Stefan glared at Damon. “Knock it off, you’re not helping.”

“Oh please, little brother-”

Echo glanced between the brothers, curiosity and slight amusement. “How would you even know, have you read these before?”

“Of course we have,” Snarked Damon. “We’re your best friends.”

Echo cocked her head slightly at the man, he didn’t seem to be lying and with how her journal praised him she decided she would believe the brothers. Did she even have another choice? It’s not like she knew where they were, or even how to get away from them had that been what she had wanted.

With the roll of her eyes Echo turned her eyes back down to her book, focusing on learning more information.

You come from a family of the oldest nymphs possible, you are the second oldest to 3 other siblings. Though I doubt you will ever meet any of them again, As there is no telling where they have gone or if they are even still alive. I have looked for them for so long, and yet I could not seem to find them.You need to be careful, learn how to control your powers, and make sure you don’t get killed. Nymphs have been hunted to near extinction because of their blood. No matter what, you can not let people that you do not trust, know that you are a nymph. You will either be used as the endless power source for witches, and or sucked dry by a vampire hoping to become stronger. You must stay alive no matter what, no matter how hard it gets. Do not give up.

There is a choker with a blue gemstone around your neck, no matter what, never take it off. It disguises your scent, your abilities to an extent, as well as your presence and true form. It is there to protect you, take care of it at all costs, do not lose it.

A startled yelp fell from Echo’s lips when both doors of the front of the car suddenly slammed shut. She hadn't even noticed the car had come to a stop, or that the brothers had even gotten out. She looked around and found that they were in a nearly empty area, Sept’ for the abandoned that was to the right of her. Finally her eyes darted up to stare at Damon who was leaning against the driver's seat, watching her through the open window. His face was set in one of determination as he looked at her sternly.  
Echo looked at him curiously, pondering about what could make the playful man suddenly seem so serious. “Where are we?”

“That doesn’t matter, what does is that you make sure you get away from her and back to Mystic Falls.”

Echo’s nose scrunched due to her confusion, her eyebrows raising. “Why would I do that, I’m supposed to stay with you-”

“Not this time.” Damon quickly cut her off glancing up to already see Stefan creeping around to the back of the abandoned building. He looked back down at Echo. “I won’t risk you getting injured, especially just after a relapse.”

Echo went to argue more but was once again swiftly cut off by Damon. “Listen, I have to stop a friend of mine from getting kidnapped and I can’t do that if I’m worried about you, so just meet me at Mystic Falls. I promise I'll explain everything once we meet up."

Echo frowned but didn’t attempt to argue any longer. “Alright, I’ll go and I'll meet you there.”

Damon nodded "There's my good girl." He grinned and turned to start walking away. “See you later princess!” he called quietly towards her before disappearing around the side of the house.

Echo huffed and pushed open the back door. She had half a mind to call out to him and ask him about why he kept calling her pet names, she wondered if it was explained in one of her journals. If not she guessed she could always ask him at a later date. Pulling herself into a standing position Echo let out a low groan when multiple spots in her back cracked. She sighed, the girl seriously needed to get a massage. She was way too tense, probably from laying in the back seat of a car for who knows how long. Shutting the back door, she pulled open the driver door and sat down inside.

Despite knowing she should leave, and do as Damon told her to do; something inside her was telling her not to leave. Trying to ignore it, Echo rummaged around for a few moments until she found Damon's phone, she turned it on and took a few moments to set up her GPS location. She was about to turn on the car engine when once again something inside her called out to her, warning her not to leave. Echo looked at the abandoned building to her right, something was drawing her towards it and she didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing. 

Echo glanced into the backseat where her journal laid, her hand rose up to fiddle with the necklace around her neck. Was it true? Did the supernatural exist? Was she-whatever the hell a nymph was? Or was she just an insane person who had amnesia from time to time? 

She certainly didn’t feel loony, but she supposed that truly crazy people didn’t even know they were actually crazy either. Sighing she reached to the backseat and grabbed the book once more, she knew she should’ve been following Damons directions, and she would. In a few moments. But first she wanted to see just how crazy she was. Opening the book to the first page she decided to read a little bit more.

You’re probably wondering if your crazy, with all this talk about Nymphs, witches, curses, and vampires...and don’t even get me started on fucking werewolves. But I promise you it is all true, if you can’t bring yourself to believe me- AKA your-literal-self have Damon prove it to you. He’ll explain everything you want to know.

Echo was brought out of her reading for a second time that day when a loud bang sounded out from within the abandoned building to her left. Despite not knowing about the dangers that were inside, something inside her was craving to go inside and find out just what had made such a noise.

“Curiosity is totally about to kill this fucking cat.”

Now, giving into her own curiosity Echo put her journal back into her satchel and hooked the bag over her shoulder. It was quite hefty, she figured she could knock someone out with it should the need arise. Opening the car door Echo once more climbed out before shutting the driver door behind her. Taking in a determined breath Echo began to stalk towards the run down looking abandoned house. She held the strap of her satchel close to her chest as she got closer. By the time Echo was at the front doors everything was silent. She placed her ear against the door only to hear nothing

"I'm totally about to lose one of my nine lives...if I haven’t already."

Echo placed her hand on the door knob of the right side of the door, only to find that it wouldn’t budge, there was something blocking it. Echo huffed and moved her hands to the left door, trying to open that one instead. She almost cheered happily when the door pushed open for the girl to step inside. Letting out a humm of content, Echo stepped inside. Surprisingly enough it was still rather bright inside, likely due to the decay of the building as well as its windows. 

Echo looked around, besides normal abandoned furniture and destruction she spotted nothing out of the ordinary. That is, until she turned back to the pair of doors, once she was ready to leave.

“What the actual fuck?!” She yelped in fear and confusion.

An irregular corpse was pinned into the door with what looked like half of a broken coat rack. Echo resisted the urge to scream in disgust as she looked at the corpse. If the body wasn’t so zombified, she would have assumed him being stuck to the door was what would have made the loud noise she heard, except It wasn’t a regular dead body. His skin was a dark grey with purple and blue veins spreading across his darkened skin.. She couldn't help but take a step closer to observe the morbid corpse, she once again knew she should leave, but couldn’t find the will too.

The man seemed almost..Familiar to her. Like she had seen him before. It was like when she first looked at Damon and Stefen. She knew they were familiar but not how. For a second Echo pondered if she actually knew the man as a surprising and curious sadness washed over her. 

It confused her, despite not remembering knowing the man in front of her there was a sorrow that swept over her as she looked at his corpse. She wondered if he was someone important to her, and that was why her brain was so subconsciously sad to see the man before her, lay dead. A frown crossed her lips as something slid down her cheek. Startled, Echo rose a hand to her cheek, only to find tears dripping down from her eyes.

“I’m crying?”

She quickly wiped her tears, maybe her body knew him, but she didn’t. She was mourning over the death of someone she didn’t even remember. 

“I should bury him.” She muttered. She hoped giving the man a burial would help her feel better. It might put her sadness to rest if he was to properly be taken care of. Everything was so odd right now. Not even 30 minutes before she had woken up not remembering a goddamn thing, not even her name. And now she was about to bury a corpse who she had a strong inkling that she knew.

Stepping closer Echo wrapped her hands around the part of the coat hanger protruding from the suited man’s chest. She was about to start pulling it out when the corpse's eyes suddenly snapped open. Echo jumped back, falling to the ground out of fear.

The woman did the only sensible thing she could think of, scream.

Filled with fear, a startled scream echoed into the nearly empty building as Echo jumped back from what she once believed to be a dead man's corpse. The woman hadn’t managed to catch her footing and ended up landing right on her ass a few steps back. She stared at the man in front of her in horror, he looked at her but made no move to speak yet. Instead his once gray skin quickly regained its color as the purple and blue veins that once spread across his body faded back into his skin.

It occurred to Echo that maybe the supernatural things in her journal existed after all.

Then the undead, suit wearing man spoke. His voice was filled with shock and disbelief as a whisper fell from his lips. “Echo?”

Any feeling of familiarity Echo had earlier possessed was now hitting her even harder. Her hunch was right, she apparently did know this man, just as he evidently knew her. “Um..Hi?” Echo’s voice was filled with slight weariness and confusion. “Do you know me?”

Echo stayed where she was, still sitting on the ground as she looked up at the man, still pinned to the door. How she hadn’t noticed the coat rack through the front of the door earlier, she had no clue.

The man looked down at her with even more confusion, then his eyes met hers. His chocolate brown eyes were like a dark swirling storm of emotions as they stared down at her. They were filled with so many different emotions, most of which only confused Echo. She could see confusion, shock, anger, and even longing, as well as something else she couldn’t identify in his eyes. 

When their eyes met Echo felt something snap within her. she couldn’t say what, or even why’ but as she looked into this strangers eye’s something changed within her, almost as if she suddenly felt free, her body suddenly felt so much lighter, the pounding that had still been quietly thumping in her head, now gone. It was like a sudden weight was removed from upon her.

Taking a small breath out of confusion, Echo Pulled her eyes away from his enchanting ones. Her eyes quickly raking over the rest of his features.. He was wearing a black suit, was clearly a very fit man, and had longer hair than most men; with it falling from a middle part on his head. Echo was distracted from her gazing when his deep voice rang out again, attracting her attention. 

“You do not remember me? How is this possible...I have long since believed you to be dead, how are you here?”

Echo simply shrugged, raising a hand to rub the back of her neck nervously. “Sorry man, I’ve got no clue who you are, don’t feel bad, I didn’t even know who I was until like 30 minutes ago. All I   
know is something’s drawing me to you...And if I’m supposed to be dead I really couldn’t tell you why I’m not.”

“You didn’t...know who you were?”

Echo nodded. “Yep, I woke up in the back seat of some guy's car, but I’ll explain that in a minute, cause’ I feel like I should trust you. But first let's get you all fixed up. Seeing you pinned to the door like a thumbtack on a cork board after coming back to life is really freaking me out man.”

The man looked down at the coat hanger sticking through him. “I believe that may be a good idea.”

Echo watched in slight horror as the man wrapped his hands around the coat hanger before ripping it out of his chest. She winced when a shout of pain escaped him before picking herself up off the ground and walking towards him, he had fallen to the ground out of pain, unable to hold himself up. Echo kneeled in front of him, watching as his face contorted in pain after he tried to get up. 

“What can I do? You clearly arn’t human so I’m not really sure how to help, but I know how to stitch shit together as I’m pretty convinced you’re a fucking zombie.”

The man looked up at her, his eyes filled with both pain and amusement. “I can assure you I am no zombie, simply a vampire. There are pieces of splintered wood still stuck in my chest, as soon as they are pulled out I should be able to heal normally.”

Echo grinned slightly and motioned for him to remove his top. “I’ll pull 'em out for ya’. And being a zombie sounds like it would be so much cooler, I guess I should at least ask your name before your start stripping for me shouldn’t I?” Echo chuckled, her smile growing when the man in front of her let out a small chuckle of his own amusement. 

“I am Elijah.”

“I am Elijah, may I have the pleasure of knowing your name?” A much longer haired Elijah grinned down at a much longer haired Echo. They stood in the middle of a small village, each of them wearing older clothes. 

Echo grinned up at Elijah. “My name is Echo, and this little trouble maker is Seraphina.”  
Both Elijah and Echo chuckled and looked down at the small child that was hiding behind Echo’s dress.

“I apologise for my younger sister, she needs to learn to watch where she is going.”

“You needn’t apologise, children are simply playful are they not?” Elijah grinned down at Echo, leaning to the left slightly to wave at the nervous Seraphina who hid behind Echo’s floor length dress.

“Sometimes they are too playful, I worry my sister will get herself in trouble one day.”

Elijah smiled playfully before frowning when he heard his brother calling his name, he sadly had to go. “Are you a traveler? Or will you be staying in our village?”

Echo nodded at Elijah. “Staying, my family and I had just begun moving into our new home today.”

Elijah heard his name called once more and ignored it, simply nodding at Echo as she looked at him with curiosity. “Then I hope we shall see more of each other, I must go. Goodbye for now, miss Echo.”

“Goodbye for now Mr. Elijah.”

Echo fell out of her trance when Elijah called her name, her eyes snapped towards his concerned ones.

“Are you alright?” He questioned. Echo simply nodded, ignoring the worried look he was giving her and went back to the task at hand, letting out a confused sigh she put a smile on her face when she saw he had not yet unbuttoned his shirt.

“Alright then Elijah, start stripping I’m not paying you for nothing-” Echo giggled lightly at her own crappy joke, trying to not think about the scene that had just crossed her mind. She believed it was a memory but decided it would be best to think about it later.

Elijah looked up at her, he raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. “Paying me?” 

“It’s a joke, just hurry up already.”

Elijah simply stayed quiet, but did as Echo bid. He winced in pain as he pulled open his suit before unbuttoning his shirt. Echo ignored the need to stare at his very built chest and instead moved her hand towards where the largest splinted of wood was sticking out. Luckily all of the pieces of wood were large enough that she could pull them out with her fingers, as she didn’t exactly have any tweezers around.

“Alright Mr. Vampire, don’t rip out my jugular when I pull these out, cause this is gonna hurt like a bitch.”

“I would never do such a thing to you, my dear. I would sooner set the world a blaze.” 

Elijah’s eyes were filled with so much care and truth, it nearly made Echo swoon. She wondered for a moment why he was looking at her with such care, she understood they were likely friends if her vision was true but even still. Echo was shocked and oddly happy to hear such heartfelt words be spoken to her. She had to fight to keep the goofy grin that wanted to appear off her face as Elijah continued to look at her. His mouth curling up at the corners in amusement.

Echo coughed awkwardly, and avoided his eyes.. “Yeah, well here I go. One...Two...Three!” She pulled the first, and worst piece of wood out, closing her eyes in guilt when Elijah gasped out with pain.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Echo yelped and tried to quickly keep pulling out the splintered pieces of wood. She hated causing him pain and did her best to be as quick as possible.It only took her a few more moments to finish ripping the wood out of his chest, once she was done she looked up at Elijah’s face which was slowly coming down from the pain that had been spread across it. Thankfully his wounds were already healing, and Elijah had been through many worse experiences, a few pieces of wood were nothing compared to being hit with a wip soaked in vervain.

Echo didn’t even think before her hands raised to the sides of his face, cupping his cheeks and making Elijah look at her as she stared into his eyes. Her eyes searched his own, trying to make sure he was okay. 

“Are you alright?” Her voice was full of worry as they stared at each other for a silent moment.

“I’m alright my dear.” Elijah's eyes shined with awe as he stared into Echo’s crystal blue eyes. The man nearly stopped breathing as she cradled his face, searching the depths of his eyes to make sure he was alright. Even if she didn’t remember him it was ingrained within her to make sure he was alright. Elijah’s hand raised up to cup Echo’s as he looked into her eyes, eyes the original once believed he would never have the pleasure to look into again.

Echo’s eyes widened when his hand touched hers, finally realizing she was holding his face and pulled away from him. Her face flushed lightly as she looked down at her hands which she had placed on her thighs. “I-I’m sorry, I don’t know why I did that.”

Echo didn’t miss the frown that crossed Elijah's face at the loss of contact, nor her confession, yet she didn’t say anything about it either. Her heart pounded faster out of nervousness, as she tried to calm herself for a moment. It was like instinct for her to want to make sure he was alright, to cradle and hold him so caringly.

Echo shook her head and stood up, trying to shake the feelings she had away. She reached her hand out towards him. “Come one, let’s get you up off the ground.” Elijah said nothing as he silently grabbed onto her soft outstretched hand, allowing her to help pull him up. Once he was standing Echo looked around the room while Elijah buttoned his shirt and fixed his suit. She did her best to be respectful and not look.

“What even went on here? Why were you done in with a coat rack?..The better question is where did Damon and Stefan go? They walked in, and didn’t walk back out.”

Elijah looked at her, his face set in a deep frown. “You know the Salvatores?”

Echo shrugged. “Apparently. I woke up in the back of their car and was told by my journal that I’m supposed to trust them, and do my best to stay with them.”

“Your journal?” 

“Mhm.” Echo reached for the satchel that was still hooked around her neck and shoulder and grabbed the first journal from inside. “I guess I lose my memory often? I only got to read the first page, but according to this, I have some type of curse on me, the supernatural are real, and I’m supposed to trust Damon and Stefan Salvatore with my life?”

Elijah frowned at the mention of Echo entrusting the Salvatores with her life, they were children compared to the both of them. They could barely be responsible for themselves, let alone someone precious to Elijah. As soon as his informant had called him, the original had begun doing research on everything he deemed important, the doppelganger, her bodyguards, and even the town they lived in. While he still had much more to look into, he knew the Salvatores could not be trusted to take care of Echo.

Echo flipped open the book and walked over to show him, she watched as his eyes quickly scanned the page. Something was telling her she shouldn’t let him have the journals, at least not until she read them herself. Then she would tell him everything she learned. She supposed she should have been a lot more weary about trusting a strange man who had just come back to life, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Pulling the journal away from him, Echo put it back in her bag. “I get the feeling you wanna know what's going on with me just as much as I do, so when I read more, I’ll let you know what's going on. Okay?”

Elijah made a hum like noise of content. “I will wait then, as to explain where the Salvatores have gone, I assume they have gone back to wherever it is they came from. They ruined a meeting I was having before they killed me. Why they didn’t make sure you left is beyond my understanding.”

“A meeting? You’re not like some drug dealing vampire are you?”

Elijah raised a brow at her. “Of course not. I was simply being brought a Petrova doppelganger, and the Salvatores took her. I need her to be brought to me.”

Echo looked at him with shock, weariness, and slight fear.. “Oh my god, your a fucking human trafficker or some shit arn’t you.” She took a step back from him and clenched her bag towards her chest, maybe she might get to smack the shit outta someone with it after all, even if it wouldn’t do much.

Elijah quickly shook his head, seeing fear spark in her eyes. “No. Allow me to explain?” Elijah was quick to try and erase any negative thoughts raging inside her mind.

Echo looked at him hesitantly. “Okay, but if you kill me...well there's not exactly much I could do to stop you..”

Elijah frowned at her. “As I said before, I would sooner watch the world burn before I ever even dreamed of hurting you.” He let out a sigh and looked around. “Let us go somewhere more..suitable and I shall explain the situation to you seeing as no one else has yet.”

Echo looked up at him warily. “You know if anyone else would have asked me to go somewhere with them after they literally died and came back to life, I’d say fuck no and start running..But there's something about you, I feel like I can trust you.”

“And I will make sure to never abuse your trust, Echo despite your lack or memories, I need you to know I am the last person on this forsaken planet that would ever hurt you.” There was a determination in Elijah’s eyes as he stared deeply at Echo. He truly meant every word he said, and it showed, he truly wanted her to believe him, and as she looked deeply into his eyes. Echo found that she did.

“I believe you.”

Echo smiled and started to walk towards the door which stood behind Elijah. “I’m supposed to meet Damon at Somewhere in Mystic Falls, you can explain everything to me on the way there?”

Elijah began to follow her out of the abandoned building.”Yes, and I can explain everything to you. But you have to promise me that you will not repeat what I tell you to anyone else.”

Echo looked at Elijah who was now walking beside her, to the car she had arrived in. “I promise.”

“I’ll take your word for it."


	4. 02

Echo sat in silence as she watched the trees past on either side of the car. She was attempting to wrack her head around everything she had been told so far, as the man beside her, Elijah, drove.

"So." Echo's hands fiddled together as she continued. "You're from the first ever family of vampires, an original, and your brother who's also an original is probably going to be on his way to kidnap this chick to.. use her for a ritual to break some fucking curse that'll let him turn into a werewolf?"

She paused to take a breath and recount her thoughts. "And you wanna get this bitch first so that you can lure your brother, Klaus here so you can kill him because he's got the rest of your siblings in boxes?"

"That is correct, despite your.. Foul language." Echo turned to look at the man who spoke, he glanced over at her with a reprimanding tone.

Echo simply chuckled. "I may not know who I am, but cursing is totally a thing I do, I can feel it in my bones."

Elijah shook his head and turned back to the road. "But yes, that is the jist of what is going on. I will continue to properly inform you of things later, I don't want to pile too much information on you."

"Okay, but I just want you to explain one more thing to me." Echo looked down at her lap as she played with her hands more, her leg began to bounce anxiously as she grew slightly nervous.

Elijah frowned when he saw she was growing nervous, wanting to ease her feelings he spoke calmly."You can ask me, there's no reason to be nervous."

Elijah wanted Echo to feel safe around him. His hands twitched around the steering wheel, fighting the urge to reach over and touch her. He longed to reach out to her, to cup her in his hands as he held her in his awaiting arms. It had been such a long time since he had last seen her face, since he had last gotten the chance to gaze into her beautiful clear blue eyes. And yet no matter how much he wanted to reach out to her, he knew better too. Especially since she did not remember him, who she was to him.

Echos eyes shifted up towards the man once more as she cleared her throat and asked.

"How do we know each other?"

Elijah frowned. "That I'm afraid I can't tell yo-"

"Why not?!"

Echo's eyes darkened with sudden irritation as Echo's voice cut him off. Her hands stopped fiddling and her leg stopped bouncing as her nervousness she had once felt was replaced by anger.

Elijah's head whipped around to look at her sternly, his brows wrinkled and annoyance sparking in his eyes from being cut off. He let out of breath of irritation as he looked at the fiery woman beside him.

"Had you let me finish, you'd know I don't wish to tell you because I am uncertain on how it will affect your curse, when you showed me your journal earlier the last few sentences explained to be wary of how you learn of your past. It is evident you did not finish reading the first page, so I suggest that you do so."

Echo's eyes widened as she listened to his explanation. Calming as she went back to twiddling her thumbs. Her eyes were cast down to her sneakers as guilt took over her. Elijah had so far told her so much already, and she had been so quick to snap at him out of anger. She let out a saddened sigh, before pulling her knees up to her chest.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, I should have let you explain. It's just.."

"You are confused."

The annoyance in Elijah's voice was gone as he realized why she was so quick to lash out. He frowned and glanced at her, watching her curl up into herself in the seat beside him. Guilt panged at his chest for how he had spoken to her, he supposed he could have been less harsh.

"I apologize for how I have spoken to you, it's only natural for you to be wary and confused by everything going on. Especially since all of the information you currently know is in fragments. Please understand that I want to tell you, I want you to remember me, and I want you to remember who I am to you; who you are to me."

Elijah's warm dark brown eyes met Echo's worried crystal ones, then he motioned towards her satchel where her journals resided in.

"However, until I know how telling you of your past will affect you, I can not tell you. I've been around 1,000 years dear Elskan, I've seen how some memory curses affect their hosts. Most can't handle it when told of their past and die. I will not risk that happening to you, little nymph."

Echo nodded her head. "I understand...I'd like to stay alive too." She let out a small chuckled and the grip on her legs loosened, while they were still tucked up to her chest she was no longer as wrapped around herself.

"What does that mean? Elskan?" Her eyes glistened with interest as her eyes danced between Elijah and the large they just passed, it read Welcome to Mystic Falls. Population: 6,923.

The corner of Elijah's mouth turned up into a teasing smile. "I'm afraid that is one of the things you will have to find out as we find a way for you to regain your memories."

Echo stiffened, her eyes widening as she watched Elijah with awe spread across her face.

"You're going to help me get my memories back?"

Her voice rose a pitch as happiness and excitement filled it. Her eyes shone with surprise and glee as a grin spread across her face.

Elijah's eyes darkened as his face tightened with determination. Finding out how to break her curse wasn't the only thing he planned to do. He planned to kill the witch who cursed her to begin with, but as Elijah saw the happiness that radiated from the nymph right next to him, the dark thoughts of how he planned to kill the witch subsided; his anger fading and his blank softening into a smile once more.

"Of course I am." His smile matched hers as he was overwhelmed by the happiness that infected him from Echo's own happiness. "I meant it when I said, I want you to remember me, and I assume I can only accomplish this if you regain all of your memories as well."

Echo nodded. "Okay!" She grinned like a happy child as she watched the town scenery start to pass them. Everything looked new and fresh to her, but had she not had amnesia she would have recognized the town from the hundreds of times she had already been to it. She took in everything silently for a few moments before a realization overtook her.

" I don't know who I am." She muttered quietly, but Elijah still heard her.

"Yes, we've established that." He teased playfully. But Echo simply frowned.

"That means, I don't have somewhere to stay or any money to take care of myself. I barely know myself let alone how I'm going to go about life. All I know is my name, and that a whole lotta' supernatural bullshits goin' down."

"There is no need to worry about that. I will take care of you, be it money or anything else you will need. You will stay with me, I will get us a hotel room outside of town for the night before figuring out somewhere better for us to stay." Elijah's tone was firm as he attempted to wash away Echo's worry.

"I can't let you do that, I may not know many things about myself, but I know I'm not a moocher."

Elijah shook his head at Echo. "You have never been such a thing, and nor will you be one now. I want to provide for you, between the Salvatore's mess, Klaus coming to town, and your amnesia I will not allow you to be anywhere other than my protection."

A sigh escaped Echo, she knew what the original was saying was true. She had no way to protect herself, or even care for herself for that matter.. In a mere few hours Echo's life was shattered into shards and fragments. And now she was left to put it all back together, however long that would take.

"I must be really special to you for you to want to do so much for me.."

"You truly are Elskan, and one day you will remember why."

The vampire and nymph sat in comfortable silence for a while before Echo watched another sign pass them. They were leaving the town, and had driven right through it.

"Where are we going?" Echo questioned. "I thought we were going to find a place to stay in the town."

"No, we're going to go to the next town over to find a hotel. I'd rather not stay in the town as the Salvatore's still believe me to be dead. I would rather like to have the drop on them rather than see us together accidentally."

Echo let out a hum of understanding and watched as trees began to swallow the road once more.. "That makes sense, you aren't going to kill them are you? My journal says they're special to me. I don't want you to kill them and then end up being super upset if I find out they were super close to me."

Elijah frowns. "That truly depends on them, if they get in my way, I will do what I must. But for your sake I will do my best not to kill them if that is what you truly want."

Echo smiled, and leaned her head against the glass of the window.

"Thank you...I just realized I haven't said that yet. You're doing so much for me and I haven't even had the decency to say thank you."

"Although there is no need, you are very welcome. I want to do these things for you, I want to help you."

Echo nodded. As she leaned her body against the glass window her eyes began to slowly droop. It was then she finally noticed how tired and exhausted she was. Her head had long since stopped pounding but her body felt even heavier than when she first woke up in the back of the Salvatore's car. A yawn escaped her as tired tears pooled at the corner of her eyes. Not wanting to fall asleep she forced herself to sit up.

"Go ahead and take a nap, I will wake you when I find us somewhere to stay." Elijah could see how worn out Echo was and encouraged her to take a nap. The woman had already gone through so much that day, and needed to rest.

"Are you sure?" Her voice slurred slightly as fatigue settled over her. She allowed her body to slump back against the seat of the car and got in the most comfortable position the space would allow her too. "I don't want to leave you by yourself."

"Do not worry about me Elskan, I am happy enough just to see you again. Go on, rest for a little while. I will be here when you wake up."

"Okay.." Echo released a second yawn before allowing her eyes to droop once more. Within moments she was out cold. This would be the second time Echo Neilsson lost consciousness that day.

Echo sang out into the opening around her. She was surrounded by the field of different wild flowers she laid in. Her voice rang out, resonating with the sound of nature around her; the wind, the rustling of the leaves from the trees that stood tall around the clearing, the sounds of birds chirping along with her. Echo was filled with serenity as she let herself bask in the natures, listening to everything around her and coming up with her own songs.

"I knew I'd find you here."

A startled scream pulled itself from Echo's lungs as she shot upwards, jumping away from the voice who scared her, the voice that belonged to the boy who was now doubled over a few steps away from her laughing his heart out.

"Elijah!" She whined angrily, her face set in a pout as she watched him, her arms crossing over her chest. "You mustn't sneak up on a lady as such!"

Elijah only let out a playful snicker. "You are right, I apologise Elskan I should not have scared you." The grin that was spread across Elijah's features told Echo, the male did not regret it in the slightest.

"You're a bloody heathen! Well go on then, What do you want?"

The smile on Elijah's face never wavered as he scolded. "As someone who prides herself to be a lady, you certainly don't hold the language of one."

Echo ignored him with a huff and let herself fall back out the grass, where she had laid previously. Elijah took her silence as an invitation as he moved to lay beside her.

"As for why I have come searching for you, can't I seek out my Elskan to spend time with her?"

"Not when your intention is to scare the soul out of her." Echo tried to act stern how her voice wavered with a slight giggle, telling Elijah that she wasn't truly mad.

"Oh please, Niklaus, Henrick or Kol would have done much worse than to simply startle you by speaking."

Echo's head turned on it's side to look at the boy beside her. "You're quite right." She agreed with a nod. "But I'd much rather spend time with you, my Astin, rather than your troublesome brothers."

"I would hope so, Elskan." Said Elijah as he too turned to face her. Except instead of just turning his head, Elijah turned on his side to face her. One arm holding his head up as he looked down at her with a smile full of happiness and tranquility. The hand that wasn't holding himself floated towards Echo, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear that was in her face, she smiled up at him happily and turned on her side to look at him as well.

Elijah's beautiful brown eyes gazed into Echo's aqua blue ones, watching as different emotions fluttered between them. His hand moved to cradle Echo's cheek. "If It was to be anyone, I'm so glad my parents have chosen you to be the one who-"

"Elskan, if you don't wake up I'm going to have to carry you inside, and I don't want to put my hands on you without your consent."

Echo's let out a quiet groan as the feeling of being shaken awake caused her eyes to slowly flutter open. Her vision was slightly blurred as her hands rose to wipe at her eyes, grogginess filled her as she tried to stay awake.

Finally her vision focused on Elijah, who was smiling endearing down at her. Words slipped off her tongue before it ever registered what she was saying.

"Will you...carry me Astin?" Her eyes fluttered shut again as she fought the need to sleep. With her eyes closed, Echo missed the astonishment that unfurled upon Elijah's face.

"W-what did you call me?" Elijah stared down at Echo with wide, hope filled eyes, but Echo simply mumbled something incorrigible and opened her eyes again to glance at the original.

Echo looked up at him through half lidded and unfocused eyes, simply sticking her arms out in a near instinctive motion. As if she was used to asking the man to carry her.

Unable to think of what to say Elijah carefully wrapped his arms around Echos back and legs to hoist her up into his arms. He cradled the girl to his chest, who cuddled into him tiredly. Elijah made sure to reach down and grab her satchel before lightly kicking the door to the car shut. Making sure he was holding her correctly, Elijah took in a deep breath, reveling in the scent of Echo, a scent that comforted him and made him feel almost safe. It was something he never thought he would ever have the chance to smell again, and thus he reveled in the feeling of holding her, like it was the last time he would ever be able to do so.

It wasn't love before Elijah was carrying Echo up towards the suite he had rented out for the both of them. He ignored the looks he got on the way up to the room, he supposed it would be rather odd to see a man carrying an unconscious woman up to a hotel room in the middle of the day. He just hoped nobody believed he truly had bad intentions and called the authorities.

Once Elijah stood in front of their suite, he shifted the sleeping Echo in his arms so that he could hold her with one arm. He used his other arm to reach out and open the door in front of them, stepping inside and shutting it behind them once he was inside.

It was Echo shifting in his grasp that made the vampire adjust her once more so that he had a firm grasp on her. Elijah smiled softly and walked through the suites living room towards where their shared bedroom was. The bedroom was a large one and had two queen beds, complete with its own master bathroom. The suite itself was quite sizable with its large living room and connected kitchen. It even had a balcony connected to the living room.

Walking into the bedroom, Elijah stalked towards the bed closest to the door. He walked to the side of the bed before placing Echo down softly onto the large comforted mattress. A smile graced his features when he tried to pull away only to find that he couldn't due to Echo's grasp on his suit jacket.

Moving his hands towards hers, Elijah encouraged her to let go, gently trying to pry her wanton fingers from his jacket.

"C'mon little nymph." Elijah implored trying to get her to release him without waking her up.

"Remove your grip." Elijah let out a small sigh or relief when he finally managed to pull away Echo's grasp. He had a feeling she wouldn't respond well to walking up beside him with her hands gripping onto his chest; as much as he loved the idea of holding her in his arms as they slept.

Making sure she was still asleep, Elijah's hand reached down to Echos face before he gently caressed her cheek loving. The original vampire still couldn't get over the fact that she was in his presence once more. That after a thousand years they had been fated to meet again. His thumb ran over Echo's cheek as he smiled down at her.

"To see you before me, my Elskan, once more is a miracle in itself. One I plan to take advantage of."

Echo shifted underneath his hand, her face pressing closer into his hand as her body moved to get more comfortable in her sleep. A chuckle escaped Elijah's lips, he rubbed her cheek once more before pulling and going to make arrangements for everything he would need. Not only would he have to do research on the doppelganger, he would have to call his witches and have them come to him. He also needed to make sure Echo had anything she needed, clothes, supplies, food. He pondered on her need for food and glanced back at the sleeping female as he padded around the room. Depending on when she woke up, he would either take her out to eat or order room service. While it was still early on in the day there was no telling on when the nymph would wake up, especially if she was worn out from her memories being wiped; Elijah realized the loss of memories had to be a strain on her body and must have been truly exhausting.

As Elijah made calls and arrangements for things to go the way he wanted them too, Echo continued to sleep peacefully. That is until her phone began to ring, quite loudly actually. So much so that it woke Echo up.

A soft murmur left Echo as her eyes shot open in irritation at the sudden sound. Not paying attention to her new surroundings she instead reached over the side of the bed where her satchel laid, her phone inside it ringing loudly. Digging through her bag she grabbed the phone, noticing someone was calling her she quickly answered, her voice full of agitation and slight grogginess.

"What the fuck do you fucking want, I was taking a nap." She snapped irritably, looking around as she finally began to examine the new room she was in.

"Where the hell are you Princess!?"

Echo was slightly puzzled when Damon's angry as well as worried voice rang out through her phone. He seemed just as cranky if not more than she was. It was then she began to look around the room and realized that while she examined the large 2 bed and what she assumed was a bathroom, she had no clue where she was. Despite for a second time that day of not knowing where the hell she was, Echo felt no fear as she calmly chirped out.

"I have no clue where I am, and why do you keep calling me that?"

"What the hell do you mean you don't know? You were supposed to meet me at Mystic Grill over an hour and a half ago!" Her later question was ignored as the angry vampire tried to access where the woman he considered his charge was.

"I dunno man, looks like I'm in a hotel room."

A scoff escaped Damon. "And you're not concerned about that in the slightest?"

Echo shrugged, knowing that he couldn't see it. "I mean? Not really, wouldn't be the first time today I woke up somewhere totally new."

"That was different!" Damon sneered angrily. "You were with me then, you were safe and protected."

"Those two words both mean exactly the same thing."

"What the- Echo!"

"Yes Damon?" Echo got up from her bed and began to walk around the hotel suite which she soon realised was empty besides herself.

"Where are you? I'm coming to get you."

"Can't tell you." Echo snickered and settled down in the living room.

"Why the fuck not?!"

"Because I still don't know where I am dude, I thought we already established this."

An annoyed groan fell through Echo's phone, only causing her to raise a brow.

" Hey man, if you're gonna jerk it, don't do it on the phone with me. I don't know you that well yet."

This time Echo listened as Damon let out an amused but exasperated snort. "You're gonna be the death of my princess."

"You're already dead." Was the playful response that left Echo as she giggled, swinging her legs happily as she laid back on the plush couch beneath her.

Damon decided to ignore this comment. "Listen, I want you to go to the windows and tell me about your surroundings so I can find you and then come get you."

Echo simply yawned and glanced to the front door of the hotel room when she heard it open. She watched as Elijah entered the room, with bags full of items in his hands. She raised a brow at him curiously but said nothing as she brought a finger up to her mouth to motion for him to stay silent. She then pointed at the phone to which Elijah nodded in understanding.

"Princess, you still there? Hello?"

"Yeah I'm still here, sorry I gotta go, my new friends back."

"What new friend? Echo who are you with?!"

"Oh hey! you used my real name!" She grinned playfully not being at all serious.

"Echo this is seri-"

Echo sat up and stretched, her back and hips cracking before she cut Damon off. "Sorry bud didn't quite catch that. Oh well, I've gotta go. Talk To ya' soon!" Echo grinned and hung up the phone, listening to Damon's cries for her not to hang up before his voice was cut off by the beep of Echo ending their call.

"Did you tell him where we are?"

Elijah walked towards Echo and set the multiple bags he held in his hands down in front of her.

"Nope, even if I wanted too, I don't know the name of the town or hotel."

Elijah rose a brow before sitting next to her. "You could find out if you truly wanted too."

"I know, but I'm still here aren't I." She looked down at the multiple bags now lining the floor at her feet. "What's all this?"

Elijah looked down at the bags before pushing them towards her with his foot. "I took the liberty of getting you some supplies and clothes as you will be staying with me. I had a few workers get you outfits and..undergarments and any other supplies you might need. If they are not to your liking we can simply find you better clothes that are."

Echo blinked in shock as she took in his explanation, looking at all the bags in front of her. "Holy cow..You didn't need to do this, thank you. I really appreciate it!" Echo's mouth turned upwards into a grin as she turned to look at him.

Elijah just nodded with a small smile. "I am glad to have made you happy."

Echo nodded furiously. "This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me! Well, as far as I can remember. Which only dates back to this morning." Echo playfully winked at Elijah who let out a low chuckle in response.

"Yes, well I also went ahead and sent for my witches. Not only will they be here to help me with Ms. Gilbert but they will also be helping me attempt to regain your memories."

Echo nodded. "Sounds awesome." She glanced down at the bags and then at the clothes she was already wearing. "You wouldn't mind if I went to go take a shower would you?" Echo chuckled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her back.

"Of course not, take all the time you need. Should I arrange for food to be brought up for when you are finished."

Echo nodded and stood up, she grabbed the bags hooking them onto her wrists as she grinned. "That'd be great Suit n' Tie!"

Elijah blinked at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion and playfulness as mirth filled his eyes. "Suit n' Tie?"

"Mhm!" Echo giggled, the sound like true music to Elijah's ears. "You're wearing a suit and a tie aren't ya'? I gotta have at least one nickname for ya'"

Elijah let out a chuckle as he too stood from where he sat on the couch. "How playful. Well, go on and have your shower and I will have lunch brought up for us."

Echo turned and began to walk back towards the bedroom she had first emerged from.

"Technically we're falling into dinner time now, it's what? Almost 3? 4?"

"3:30 to be exact."

"Exactly, almost dinner time."

Elijah shook his head as he watched the nymph disappear into the bedroom they would be sharing. It wasn't long after he began to hear the rushing of water as Echo got ready to take a shower. Then the vampire searched for the hotel phone before calling down and making food arrangements.

It was an hour later when Elijah heard the bathroom door open from his spot on the balcony. The man was leaning back in his chair as he silently read the book in his grasp. It was a book on the history of Mystic Falls. As Elijah read he listened to the pitter patter of Echo's foot steps training towards the balcony, where he sat.

"So you finally emerge." Elijah joked lightly, not removing his eyes from his book as he instead turned the page to continue reading.

Echo let out a playful huff as she moved to sit in the chair a few feet across from him. Her eyes gazed out at the town both underneath and around them.

"I'm glad I'm not scared of heights, or else I'd be too scared to take in the gorgeous scenery."

Elijah finally looked up from his book towards the nymph. Her long chocolate hair fell in damp ringlets down her back and around her face as she looked out off of the balcony with a peaceful smile. Elijah's eyes gazed down Echo's form as he took in what she was wearing. The woman had decided on wearing a thin long sleeved oversized navy shirt followed by a pain for mid-thigh length black cotton shorts.

"It would be a shame for your fears to stop you from taking in the beauty of the world."

"Mhm."

Elijah watched as Echo curled up comfortably in her chair, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her knees and she laid her head against her knees to watch the scenery. She hadn't even noticed that Elijah couldn't take his eyes off her beautiful form.

Clearing his throat Elijah turned back to his book and continued to read. "The food should be here any minute."

"Okay." Replied Echo calmly, not moving as she settled more into her comfortable position.

The two thousand year old companions sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Echo interrupted it.

"I keep seeing...what I believe to be memories, of you and I. I've only seen 2 so far.."

Elijah immediately turned to look towards her. "You're seeing memories? Explain."

Echo had still yet to move but complied with Elijah's request. "The first one was when you told me your name. I think I saw the first time we met..My sister? Seraphina had bumped into you on accident after running around and I apologized for her."

Hope sparked in Elijah's eyes as we watched Echo. "That was indeed our first meeting. I had to go after my brother called for me, but I had hoped we would meet again."

Echo turned her head so that her left cheek was resting on her knees rather than her right. Now she could look at Elijah. Mischief sparked in her eyes as she let out a chuckle. "I quite like you with longer hair." She wiggled her brows at the vampire who brought a hand up to his hair and ran his hand through it.

"Although it certainly doesn't look bad short either."

Elijah shook his head at her silently before motioning for Echo to continue explaining just exactly what she had seen.

"The next time was when I fell asleep in the car...I dreamt we were in a field. A beautiful opening with flowers everywhere. You were telling me that you were glad I was chosen for something? Your sentence had been cut off because I woke up to you shaking me."

If ever Elijah had ever wanted to rip his own heart it was certainly now. He had essentially stopped Echo from remembering the very thing he wanted her to remember most of all. Letting out a breath to calm himself, Elijah nodded at Echo who was watching him curiously.

"Do you remember what you were going to tell me?"

"Of course I do." Elijah watched Echo fondly. "I remember it as if it were yesterday."

Echo's curiosity grew but before she could ask any more questions both Echo and Elijah turned towards the hotel room door when it was knocked upon. "Room service is here!" Called a man from outside the door.

Echo turned to Elijah and unfolded herself from the position she had been sat in. "I guess you can tell me later, for right now? I'm starving." Echo snickered and sauntered back into the living room towards the door, aware of Elijah following behind her.

Echo settled herself back down onto the dark brown plush couch as Elijah made quick conversation to achieve their dinner. Before Echo knew it she was watching Elijah set up the dining table for them to eat. She stood up to go help, but Elijah had already done everything by the time she walked over.

"Wow, this all looks lovely!" She looked at the meals with both hunger and awe. Both of the beautifully designed plates were filled with chicken Alfredo, with a smaller soup on the side.

Elijah nodded and walked towards her, pulling out Echo's chair before she could do so herself. This caused a small flush to spread across Echo's cheek at the action.

"Thank you." She said quietly but was still heard. She sat down and allowed him to push her chair in before she watched him move to sit down across from her.

"You are welcome, I do hope you like chicken Alfredo. I was unsure of what to order for you."

Elijah's eyes trailed over Echo for a quick moment to gaze at her reaction to the dinner, once he saw she was content he reached over and started to pour them both a glass of wine.

Echo shrugged. "I get the feeling I'm not a picky eater- Oh thank you." She reached out and took the glass of wine when he started to hand it to her.

Echo rose the glass to her soft lips before taking a sip. "This is really good wine." She observed, placing the cup down beside her plate.

Elijah looked pleased at her response before letting out a small hum. "Only the best for you, my Elskan."

Echo's head cocked slightly as she looked at Elijah, who rose his glass to his lips to take a sip of his own. "You should really tell me what that means."

"Why would I do that?" Said Elijah as he removed the glass from his lips, placing it down on the table. His voice was full of playful teasing as he looked at her, amusement sparking in his eyes. "I quite enjoy the curiosity that sparks in your eyes when I call you my Elskan."

A pout settled on Echo's face as her face puffed out slightly. "That mean 'Lijah." She whined before grabbing her fork and taking a bite of her dinner, smiling happily when she enjoyed the taste.

Elijah simply smiled. "It has been a long time since I've heard you call me that."

Echos swallowed the food in her mouth before grabbing a napkin to wipe the remains from her lips. " So that's a nickname I already had for you? I just thought it sounded like a good nickname."

"Yes, it is one you used to call me when we were younger." The vampire grabbed his own utensils before taking a bite of his delicious meal.

Echo nodded. "That reminds me, if what you're telling me is true...I'm also a thousand something years old? But you said you thought I was dead?"

"Yes, that is true. The last time I saw you was roughly a thousand years ago; The last time I saw you, I was human."

"Wow." Echo was shocked for a few seconds as she took in the information.

"Damn!"

She cursed suddenly, causing Elijah to tense, as his eyes darted towards her searching for what could have been the cause of her sudden outburst. "What is it?" He asked quickly.

"I can't make jokes about you being old!" She huffed playfully, a small grin on her face as she watched his worried one. "I was totally coming up with a bunch of jokes I was gonna make, but if we're the same age I can't really do that, now can I."

Elijah's body relaxed, no longer in the tense position he was in, his eyes no longer full of worry but rather delight. "I suppose not, you wouldn't want to indirectly call yourself old would you?." He chuckled, his voice wavering with merriment.

A huff left Echo's upturned lips. "I guess not..." Her voice trailed off for a few moments before she decided to ask Elijah a certain question. A question she wasn't sure if she truly wanted the answer too yet, though she asked Anyway.

"So..how did we get separated for a thousand years?...Or rather, what happened to make you think I was dead?"

A frown graced Elijah's beautiful features as his hand tightened in frustration just thinking about the atrocities that had occurred. "As you know my father and mother turned us, their children, into vampires. Our mother made us drink wine laced blood and our father killed us each afterwards."

Echo frowned at the mention of his parents, despite understanding they did it because they never wanted their children to die, to inflict harm upon your children, the idea of wrenching a sword through each of their chests baffled her, but she was silent as the vampire before her continued his explanation.

"When I awoke as you may have guessed, we were all startled and confused. Except myself, partially that is. While I was aware of my parents looking for a way to give us immortality I was not aware they had succeeded, or what the aftermath would be."

Elijah paused to take another sip of wine, watching Echo carefully to see how she would react.

"When my siblings and I awoke, we caused a blood bath, one after another slaughtering villagers to attempt to quench the thirsts that filled us. Looking back now, I am truly thankful that your family had not been in the village. I cannot bear the thought of you having seen the monsters that we became during the night.."

Echo stayed silent as she listened, not wanting to give an input before she knew the full story.

Elijah took in a deep breath before letting out a sigh, he hated recalling his first days as a vampire, but he believed that Echo deserved the truth. And if the man had the power to tell her what she wished to know, he could never hold anything back from her, not the woman he held so dear to him.

"Once I was...In a correct state of mind, my first thought was to search for you. I searched the entire town for you, begging and pleading to any god imaginable that you had not been part of the carnage my siblings and I had caused in your thirst. Instead I found your house burned to the ground with nothing blackness and ash."

"When I confronted my father about your home, I was a true mess, my humanity wavering as I dreaded to think what could have happened to you. And when my father, when Mikael told me you were gone, burnt to the ground and turned to ash along with your home and siblings? I am not proud of how I reacted after. Out of my siblings, I was the first to turn off my humanity. I shut off my pain, my mourning, and my ability to care. I did what I wanted, when I wanted. I destroyed villages, I killed innocents just to try and feel something other than pain."

Echo felt tears well up in her eyes as she listened to the tale Elijah spoke. She could see the pain riddled across his face, the remorse, the guilt that flooded his dark coffee colored eyes. Seeing him in pain, as he recounted his memories felt like a stake through her heart. She wasn't aware of what she could do to console him, what she could say to wash the misery that encased him; so instead she stood up.

She ignored the way Elijah's eyes snapped towards hers in confusion and panic, and ignored the way he asked her what she was doing as she stalked towards him. A tear dripped down her cheek as she got closer to him, and finally once she stood to the side of him, she pulled the sitting male into a hug, wrapping her arms around him and pulling the side of his head towards her chest, her head laying against the top of his as she coiled herself around him.

"I know there's nothing I can say that will ever erase your pain, I know there is nothing I can ever do that will take away the guilt and the misery from you. But I see how much you're hurting, and the one thing I can do, is give you a hug to let you know you're not alone."

Elijah was tense in her arms, unaware of how to react, the man was rarely touched, and certainly hadn't been hugged for over hundreds of years. The feeling of being held in Echo's arms, her calming scent and voice encasing him as she did her best to comfort him left him in shock and awe.

For the first time in centuries Elijah arms rose to hold curl around the nymph, surrounding her and pulling her even tighter to him. He breathed in her scent and let the serenity Echo carried with her wash away the guilt, the pain, the sadness that filled him. It had been so long since he had last held the nymph in his arms, so long since he had last sought comfort in the arms of another, let alone her specifically.

"While there's so much I don't know, so much I don't remember. One thing I know for sure is that Is that you are important to me, extremely important to me, and now that we're together? I'm not going anywhere.

"I know." Elijah finally spoke, his voice full of certainly instead of the pain that once filled it. "I won't allow you too."

A laugh fell from Echo's lips, her chest rumbling against Elijah's head as the vampire reveleved in both the sound and feel of her laughter against him.

Slowly the two pulled away from each other as they stared into each other's eyes for a moment. The dark storm that brewed in Elijah's eyes meeting the crashing of waves that swirled in Echo's With a small smile, Echo took a step back before rounding the table to take her seat once more. She was happy to longer see the pain upon his face, now the vampire looked much happier, much calmer. "C'mon." She cooed, sending another smile towards the man.

"Let's finish our dinner, you don't continue explaining to me right now."

"I know." Spoke Elijah. "But I will, I want to. Let us finish our meal and I shall tell you the rest."

Echo frowned not wanting Elijah to push himself further, but said nothing against his choice.

"Alright." She called softly before the two continued their meal.


End file.
